Timmins Tigers cricket team hosts Mayor's Cup Tournament
Cricket players will tell you, the sport is as important to them as a hockey is to northerners.
With more people from Asia moving to northern Ontario, it's become crucial for them to get the sport established in this part of the world.
Timmins Tigers hosted a cricket tournament. June 4/23 (Lydia Chubak/CTV Northern Ontario)
"We have almost 200, 250 people playing cricket in Thunder Bay and that’s something, especially for a place where cricket was nothing," said Stefin Cyriac, a member of the Thunder Bay Kombans cricket team.
"We’re getting more and more inquiries about are you coming for this tournament, that tournament, and that’s all around Canada."
This weekend, the Timmins Tigers hosted cricket teams from Thunder Bay and Sault Ste. Marie in the first of several tournaments this summer.
The winning team will take home the Mayor's Cup, a new trophy that the Timmins Tigers hope will help grow the sport and add a new level of prestige to the 'gentleman's game' in the north.
"You have to think outside of the box, so I thought have we ever played a Mayor’s Cup here? They said 'no,'" said Deepak Datta, a member of the Timmins Tigers team.
"Mayor (Michelle Boileau) is supportive, so why not dedicate a cup towards the mayor’s office … and it’s going to spread awareness in the whole town."
Datta said because of strong local support, it means that after graduation some people have decided to stay in the north because cricket is offered.
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
"I had a sports background, so when I was in India, I used to represent my team over there. So when I moved here, I was planning something to get something related to that, so it was good to have cricket here," said Bhavya Jain, another member of the Tigers.
The Timmins cricket team is hosting another tournament in two weeks, with teams from North Bay and Sudbury participating, and there will also be one on Canada Day weekend with teams from Brampton and Orillia coming to play.
"It helps the local economy here too because they live in the hotels, they go enjoy in the restaurant, they go enjoy in the bars and all that," said Datta.
As the sport continues to grow in the north, some clubs like Thunder Bay's is also getting children and women involved.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."